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The kindness of strangers stretches across the country

There has been an outpouring of support for the more than 80,000 Fort McMurray residents forced to flee their homes because of the wildfires from all across Canada, and it’s not just donations to the Red Cross.

Stanley Barkman, of the Sachigo Lake First Nation in northern Ontario, near set out last week on a 2,000-km walk from Sioux Lookout, Ont., to Fort McMurray to raise money through a crowd-funding initiative for the fire-ravaged city. (Facebook)

There has been an outpouring of support for the more than 80,000 Fort McMurray residents forced to flee their homes because of the wildfires from all across Canada, and it’s not just donations to the Red Cross.

Some of the most remarkable are gathered here, many of them with no connection at all to the city or its people. They are a reminder that it sometimes takes tragedy to show us the best side of human nature. Here are some of their stories.

Dressed in distress

When evacuees started streaming south just ahead of Mother’s Day and high-school prom, dress store owner Tish Olsen knew how she could help out. On May 6, Olsen posted an offer of a free dress for evacuee grads and mothers. The next day, they were swamped. (Courtesy of Tish Olsen)

Tish Olsen, owner of Tish’s Fashions, deals in fancy dresses. When Fort McMurray evacuees started streaming south just ahead of Mother’s Day and high-school prom it quickly came clear how she could help out. On Friday, May 6, Olsen and daughter Olivia posted an offer of a free dress for evacuee graduates and mothers. The next day, they were swamped.

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“I think they were a little bit overwhelmed that someone would do something like that,” she said. “It’s an ongoing offer. I’m going to keep it going as long as there’s a need and people are coming I’ll fill it.”

Retail chain Below the Belt wanted to help those evacuees without the money to profit from widely-available Fort McMurray discounts. It teamed up with Silver Jeans Co. last week to hand out 700 pairs of jeans free to Fort McMurray residents.

“I said, ‘I know how we can help,’” said Michael Silver, president of Silver Jeans Co. “We have clothes and those people barely left with the clothes on their back. Let’s just do this.”

The stock of pants, with a total retail value of $70,000, sold out in 2.5 hours, said Alex Payne, operations manager for Below the Belt.

You’ll never walk alone

Stanley Barkman, an indigenous man from the Sachigo Lake First Nation in northern Ontario is walking 2,000 kilometres from Sioux Lookout, Ont., to Fort McMurray, Alta., to raise money for the fire-ravaged city. (Facebook)

Stanley Barkman of the Sachigo Lake First Nation, near the Ontario-Manitoba border, set out this week on a 2,000-kilometre walk Sioux Lookout, Ont., to Fort McMurray to raise money through a
https://www.gofundme.com/walk4FortMcMurray crowd-funding initiative
END
for the fire-ravaged city.

“It’s pretty simple,” he explained. “People from Fort McMurray are losing their houses, their towns and I just felt like I wanted to do something. I know I won’t be able to bring the whole town back but it’s just to try and get them started.”

Truck driver Gord VanLaerhoven, 31, organized the collection and delivery of four truckloads of donations in his hometown of Chilliwack B.C. for evacuees of the Fort McMurray.

Some people moved mountains to help the evacuees. Gord VanLaerhoven, 31, did that and then drove 1,000 kilometres through the Rockies to deliver four tractor trailer-loads of donations from his hometown of Chilliwack, B.C. The load, delivered last Saturday, included toiletries, diapers, wipes, paper towels, pet food and cash and gift cards collected over two days.

“It got offloaded from our trucks and while we were still there they were already starting to store it. We were watching it go out the door with evacuees,” he said. “We were the biggest, blubbering mess of men that I’ve ever seen in my life.”

Magical idea

Calgary resident Elle Nguyen offered the proceeds from a day of sales at her cotton-candy pop up store to the Red Cross Fort McMurray fire relief effort. (Courtesy of Elle Nguyen)

Tragedy makes for strange bedfellows, but probably none stranger than the owner of a cotton-candy pop-up store in Calgary and a magician who united to help Fort McMurray evacuees. The entrepreneur, Elle Nguyen, has friends who fled the town and she was moved to help after seeing the pictures, videos and accounts of the devastation.

She raised $600 from cotton-candy sales last weekend, an amount that was matched by a local magician, Yeats Wong, as well as the provincial and federal governments. On Thursday, she set up at a Calgary Shopper’s Drug Mart to sell cotton candy and baked goods for donations, with all proceeds going to evacuees.

Perfectly aligned assistance

From left to right: Sandra Benson, Dr. Marguerite Duncan, Dr. Benjamin Koh and Jessica Harris. Dr. Benjamin Koh is Fort McMurray's only resident orthodontist and he has been flooded with offers of office space and help with his now-scattered patient load after the city was evacuated by wildfires.

Fort McMurray’s only resident orthodontist was forced from his office and home by the fires, but teeth still needed fixing and braces needed tightening. So while Dr. Benjamin Koh ended up with his wife’s family in Denver, the Toronto native was flooded with offers of office space and help with his patient load from Alberta colleagues.

“We weren’t even thinking of that ... We were just trying to gather ourselves together and figure out what we should be doing next,” said Koh, who will work three days a week with donated dental supplies out of the Edmonton offices of Dr. Marguerite Duncan.

A lasting impression

Tattoo artist Tony Steylen felt a connection to those fleeing Fort McMurray even from while working a stint in Saint John, N.B. He decided to donate the proceeds of his labour last Wednesday to the relief effort and ended up raising $975.

In Cape Breton, if you haven’t worked in Alberta’s oilsands you know someone who has. So Sydney, N.S., tattoo artist Tony Steylen felt a connection to those fleeing Fort McMurray even from while working a stint at the Compass Rose Tattoo Company in Saint John, N.B. He decided to donate the proceeds of his labour last Wednesday to the relief effort and ended up raising $975.

“There were a lot of people who came in for tattoos that either had friends or family members who were out there so they were keen to help out. I couldn’t have asked for a better day. It was a little longer and little busier but … it’s well worth it. People need to help out.”

Bringing the force

Members of the Badlands Garrison of the 501st Legion — Star Wars fans in Alberta and Saskatchewan — live by the motto: “Bad guys doing good.” For Fort McMurray's evacuees, the group donned their uniforms, dressing to raise funds with a bake sale and charity barbecue. (Amilee Hagon)

They are agents of evil on the screen. In real life, members of the Badlands Garrison of the 501st Legion—Star Wars fans in Alberta and Saskatchewan, live by the motto: “Bad guys doing good.”

For Fort McMurray the group has donned their uniforms, dressing as Storm Troopers and other characters, to raise funds with a bake sale this week and charity barbecue this weekend.

“For a lot of our members it is a personal cause,” said Deez Lees, a spokesperson. “When the evacuation was happening, we had people on our private network saying that their aunt and uncle are coming in and is there anyone who can keep their dogs for a few days”

Roadside rest stop

In Thunder Bay, Ont., Christina Reder has opened her home to Fort McMurray residents evacuating east, offering a warm meal, a place for the kids to stretch their legs and gift cards. From left to right: Christine Weiher, Elizabeth Youmans, Christina Reder and Erika Weiher.

There is a growing exodus of Atlantic Canadians forced from Fort McMurray and heading home. Thunder Bay’s Christina Reder is offering them a place to stop, stretch, eat and let the children burn off steam. Reder, originally from Cape Broyle, Nfld., expects the traffic to pick up in the coming days as evacuees figure out where their future lies.

“I don’t know any Newfoundlanders that are going through this, but Newfoundlanders are the kind of people that if they know there’s a Newfoundlander with whom they can stop and have a little rest, they’ll feel really comfortable with that,” she said.

Help from Hearst

Josée Aubin, of Hearst, Ont., lived in Fort McMurray and remembers the help she got from the community. The evacuation is her chance to pay back a debt of gratitude. Four families taken Aubin up on the offer of help so far, including one that stayed the night in Aubin’s home. Hearst’s Companion Hotel is offering free rooms, its daycare is offering free services, and a grocery store is collecting donations. (Courtesy of Josée Aubin)

Josée Aubin, of Hearst, Ont., lived in Fort McMurray and remembers the help she got from the community. The evacuation is her chance to pay back a debt of gratitude. Four families taken Aubin up on the offer of help so far, including one that stayed the night in Aubin’s home. Hearst’s Companion Hotel is offering free rooms, its daycare is offering free services and a grocery store is collecting donations.

“I think most of them are still not realizing the depth of their loss and they are being very humble. Some of them are taking donations … and they’re saying that somebody else needs this more,” Aubin said.

Correction - May17, 2016: This article was edited from a previous version that misstated Gord VanLaerhoven's given name.

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